[Readingsandsaints] Readings and Saints

Wed Jul 18 05:00:24 CDT 2007

Scripture Readings and Saints for Wed Jul 18 2007

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------ READINGS FOR TODAY ----------------------------
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1 Corinthians 10:12-22
12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man;
but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what
you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of
escape, that you may be able to bear it.
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
15 I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say.
16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the
blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of
the body of Christ?
17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake
of that one bread.
18 Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the
sacrifices partakers of the altar?
19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered
to idols is anything?
20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice
to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship
with demons.
21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you
cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons.
22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
Scripture Reading 1 of 4

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1 Corinthians 10:28-11:7  (Thursday)
28 But if anyone says to you, "This was offered to idols," do not eat
it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience' sake; for
"the earth is the LORD's, and all its fullness."
29 Conscience, I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is
my liberty judged by another man's conscience?
30 But if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for the food
over which I give thanks?
31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to
the glory of God.
32 Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the
church of God,
33 just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own
profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. (2) Now I praise you,
brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions
just as I delivered them to you.
3 But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the
head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors
his head.
5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered
dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were
shaved.
6 For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is
shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered.
7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image
and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.
Scripture Reading 2 of 4

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Matthew 16:20-24
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that
He was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go
to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests
and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be
it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"
23 But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an
offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the
things of men."
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after
Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Scripture Reading 3 of 4

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Matthew 16:24-28  (Thursday)
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after
Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for My sake will find it.
26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and
loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His
angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
28 Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not
taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.
Scripture Reading 4 of 4

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Martyr Emilian of Silistria in Bulgaria
The Holy Martyr Emilian, a Slav, suffered for Christ during the reign
of the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). Julian wanted to restore
in the Roman empire the cult of the pagan gods, and he circulated an
edict throughout all the regions, according to which all Christians
would be subject to death.
The city of Dorostolum, situated on the banks of the River Dunaj
(Danube), where St Emilian lived, was governed by an official named
Capitolinus. The imperial edict was read in the city square. The
people of Dorostolum said that there were no Christians in the city.
St Emilian was a slave of the local city-head, and he was secretly a
Christian. Emboldened by the harsh edict, St Emilian snuck into the
pagan temple, he destroyed statues of the idols with a hammer, he
overturned the altars and the candle-stands, and then emerged without
notice. But soon the pagans discovered, that the pagan-temple was in
ruins. An angry crowd began to beat up a certain Christian, who by
chance happened by. St Emilian then shouted out loudly, that they
should not lay hold of that innocent man, and then he said that he
himself had wrecked the pagan-temple.
They seized him and led him for judgment to Capitolinus. By order of
the official, St Emilian was for a long time beaten mercilessly, and
then he was condemned to burning. Thrown into a bon-fire, he did not
perish, but rather the flames burnt many of the pagans standing about.
And when the bon-fire had gone out, St Emilian lay down upon the dying
embers and with a prayer gave up his spirit to the Lord. At
Constantinople afterwards there was built a church in honor of the
holy Martyr Emilian, where they transferred his relics.
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Martyr Hyacinthus of Amastris
The Holy Martyr Hyacinthus was born into a pious Christian family in
the city of Amastridea (now Amastra in Anatolia). An angel which
appeared gave him his name. As a three-year-old boy St Hyacinthus
asked God that a dead infant might be resurrected. The Lord hearkened
to his childish prayer, and the dead one arose. Both lads afterwards
grew up together, and they lived an ascetic life.
St Hyacinthus once noticed how the pagans were worshipping a tree, and
so he chopped it down. For this they subjected him to harsh tortures.
They smashed out all his teeth, and having bound him with rope, they
dragged him along the ground and threw him in prison. It was there
that the holy sufferer departed to the Lord.
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Venerable John the Long-Suffering of the Kiev Near Caves
St John the Much-Suffering pursued asceticism at the Kiev Caves Lavra,
accepting many sorrows for the sake of virginity.
The ascetic recalled that from the time of his youth he had suffered
much, tormented by fleshly lust, and nothing could deliver him from
it, neither hunger nor thirst nor heavy chains. He then went into the
cave wherethe relics of St Anthony rested, and he fervently prayed to
the holy Abba. After a day and a night the much-suffering John heard a
voice: "John! It is necessary for you to become a recluse, in order to
weaken the vexation by silence and seclusion, and the Lord shall help
you by the prayers of His monastic saints." The saint settled into the
cave from that time, and only after thirty years did he conquer the
fleshly passions.
Tense and fierce was the struggle upon the thorny way on which the
monk went to victory. Sometimes the desire took hold of him to forsake
his seclusion, but then he resolved on still greater effort. The holy
warrior of Christ dug out a pit and with the onset of Great Lent he
climbed into it, and he covered himself up to the shoulders with
ground. He spent the whole of Lent in such a position, but the burning
of his former passions did not leave him. The enemy of salvation
brought terror upon the ascetic, wishing to expel him from the cave: a
fearsome serpent, breathing fire and sparks, tried to swallow the
saint. For several days these evil doings continued.
On the night of the Resurrection of Christ the serpent seized the head
of the monk in its jaws. Then St John cried out from the depths of his
heart: "O Lord my God and my Savior! Why have You forsaken me? Have
mercy upon me, only Lover of Mankind; deliver me from my foul
iniquity, so that I an not trapped in the snares of the Evil one.
Deliver me from the mouth of my enemy: send down a flash of lightning
and drive it away." Suddenly a bolt of lightning flashed, and the
serpent vanished. A Divine light shone upon the ascetic, and a Voice
was heard: "John! Here is help for you. Be attentive from now on, that
nothing worse happen to you, and that you do not suffer in the age to
come."
The saint prostrated himself and said: "Lord! Why did You leave me for
so long in torment?" "I tried you according to the power of your
endurance," was the answer. "I brought upon you temptation, so that
you might be purified like gold. It is to the strong and powerful
servants that a master assigns the heavy work, and the easy tasks to
the infirm and to the weak. Therefore pray to the one buried here
(Moses the Hungarian), he can help you in this struggle, for he did
greater deeds than Joseph the Fair" (March 31). The monk died in the
year 1160, having acquired grace against profligate passions. His holy
relics rest in the Caves of St Anthony.
We pray to St John for deliverance from sexual impurity.
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Venerable Pambo the Recluse of the Kiev Far Caves
Hieromonk Pambo, Hermit of the Kiev Caves, was a confessor for the
Faith. Captured while on a monastic obedience, he was taken off by
Tatars and for many years suffered from them for his refusal to
renounce the Christian Faith. The monk was afterwards miraculously
transported from captivity and put within his own cell. He died in
seclusion in 1241. His relics rest in the Caves of StTheodosius.
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Venerable Pambo the Hermit of Egypt
Saint Pambo lived the ascetic life in the Nitrian desert in Egypt. St
Anthony the Great (January 17) said, that the Monk Pambo by the fear
of God inspired within himself the Holy Spirit. And the Monk Pimen the
Great (August 27) said: "We beheld three things in Father Pambo:
hunger every day, silence and handcrafts". The Monk Theodore the
Studite termed St Pambo "exalted in deed and in word."
At the beginning of his monasticism, St Pambo heard the verses from
the 38th [39th] Psalm of David: "preserve mine path, that I sin not by
my tongue". These words sank deep into his soul, and he attempted to
follow them always. Thus, when they asked him about something, he
answered only after long pondering and prayer. He would say, "I must
think first, and perhaps I can, in time, give an answer, with God's
help." St Pambo was a model of a lover of work for his disciples. Each
day he worked until exhausted, and by the bread acquired by his own
toil.
The disciples of St Pambo became great ascetics: Dioscorus, afterwards
Bishop of Hermopolis (this Dioscorus, bishop of Hermopolis, is
distinguished from another Dioscorus, an arch-heretic and Patriarch of
Constantinople. He lived rather later and was condemned by the Fourth
Ecumenical Council), and also Ammonius, Eusebius and Euthymius,
mentioned in the life of St John Chrysostom. One time St Melania the
Younger (December 31) brought St Pambo a large amount of silver for
the needs of the monastery, but he did not leave off from his work nor
even glance at the money that was brought. Only after the incessant
requests of St Melania did he permit her to give the alms to a certain
monastic brother for distribution to the needs of the monastery. St
Pambo was distinguished by his humility, but together with this he
highly esteemed the vocation of monk and he taught the laypeople to be
respectful of monastics, who often converse with God.
It was said that sometimes St Pambo's face shone like lightning, as
did the face of Moses. Yet, speaking to the brethren who stood about
his deathbed, St Pambo said: "I go to the Lord as one who has not yet
begun to serve Him." He died at the age of 70.
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Icon of the Mother of God of Tolga
The Tolga Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared on August 8, 1314
to the Rostov hierarch Prochorus (Tryphon in schema). Going about his
diocese, the saint visited the environs of White Lake and from there
traveled along the banks of the Rivers Sheksna and Volga, to
Yaroslavl. Having stopped with the approach of night 7 versts distant
from Yaroslavl, at the right bank of the Volga River there flows
opposite into it the River Tolga.
At midnight, when everyone was asleep, the saint awoke and saw a
bright light illuminating the area. The light proceeded from a fiery
column on the other bank of the river, to which there stretched a
bridge. Taking up his staff, the saint went across to the other bank,
and having approached the fiery column, he beheld on it the icon of
the Most Holy Theotokos, suspended in the air. Astonished at the
miracle, the saint prayed for a long time, and when he went back, he
forgot to take his staff.
The next day, after serving Matins, when St Prochorus was preparing to
continue his journey by boat, they began to search for his staff, but
they were not able to find it anywhere. The saint then remembered that
he had forgotten his staff on the other side of the river, where he
had gone across on the miraculous bridge. He then revealed what had
occurred, and sent servants across on a boat to the other shore. They
came back and reported that in the forest they had seen an icon of the
Mother of God suspended in the branches of a tree, next to his
bishop's staff.
The saint quickly crossed over with all his retinue to the opposite
shore, and he recognized the icon that had appeared to him. Then after
fervent prayer before the icon, they cleared the forest at that place,
and put down the foundations of a church. When the people of Yaroslavl
learned of this, they came out to the indicated spot. By midday the
church was already built, and in the evening the saint consecrated it
in honor of the Entrance into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos,
and having installed the icon there he established a Feast on the day
of its appearance. St Prochorus later built the Tolga monastery near
this church. St Prochorus died on September 7, 1328.
The Tolga Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is also commemorated on
August 8.
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Hieromartyr Kozman
Over the centuries the monastic complex founded by St. David of Gareji
became a spiritual and cultural center for all of Georgia. Many of the
faithful flocked there with a desire to serve Christ.
Among them was the hieromonk Kozman, who would end his earthly life as
a martyr.
Few details of the life of Holy Martyr Kozman have been preserved.
According to the Georgian catholicos Anton, St. Kozman was a learned
and righteous ascetic, well-versed in the canons of the Orthodox
Church.
St. Kozman composed a set of Hymns to the Great-Martyr Queen Ketevan
but his work has not been preserved. According to the 19th-century
historian Platon Ioseliani, Hieromonk Kozman was taken captive and
tortured to death in the year 1630, when the Dagestanis were carrying
out a raid on the Davit-Gareji Wilderness.
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